Get Engaged Acquired by SAMY in $100M Social-First Ad Deal

Social media marketing agency Get Engaged has been acquired by Madrid-based firm SAMY in a deal valued at more than $100 million, reflecting the rapid consolidation underway as advertisers abandon traditional broadcast slots for viral digital campaigns. The transaction closed Sept. 30.

The Atlanta-founded agency built its reputation engineering some of the most talked-about brand moments surrounding recent Super Bowls without purchasing national television airtime. Its portfolio includes Carl’s Jr.’s 2025 Alix Earle campaign and DoorDash’s “Beef 101” spot featuring rapper 50 Cent, which launched ahead of Super Bowl LX this February. The DoorDash push, where 50 Cent pulled items from a delivery bag while taking thinly veiled jabs at Sean “Diddy” Combs and other figures, became one of the most dissected pieces of advertising during the game despite lacking an in-game broadcast buy.

SAMY, a global social-first marketing company with roughly 1,200 employees across North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America, structured the agreement with both stock and cash components. Private equity firm Bridgepoint holds a majority stake in SAMY. The Raine Group advised Get Engaged on the transaction.

Under the terms, Get Engaged will continue operating under its existing name as SAMY’s U.S. arm. All three cofounders—Cam Fordham, Alex Dermer, and Ben Hiott—are remaining with the business. Dermer is assuming the chief executive role. The founders confirmed no layoffs will result from the integration.

The acquisition arrives as social platforms cement their dominance over legacy media in advertising budgets. Global ad spend is forecast to grow 9.1% to $1.3 trillion in 2026, according to WARC Media, with nearly 80% concentrated in retail media, paid search, and social platforms. Linear television accounted for 41.3% of global ad spend in 2013 but was projected to fall to just 12.4% by 2025, according to WARC data. Social media has overtaken paid search to become the world’s largest advertising channel by spend.

This structural shift fueled Get Engaged’s expansion. The agency now employs more than 100 people across offices in Atlanta, New York, Nashville, and Los Angeles. Fordham reported revenue has grown 40% year over year. The client roster spans DoorDash, Perplexity, Raising Cane’s, Universal Music Group, EA, and Sazerac.

Fordham, a former LSU football player, and Hiott started the business in 2016 as a side project monetizing Facebook pages for celebrities while Hiott maintained full-time employment and music industry ties. Early clients included Atlanta hip-hop artists such as Waka Flocka Flame and T.I., initially focusing on tour merchandise and meet-and-greets before expanding into broader digital strategy. Dermer joined shortly after wrapping up a previous venture out of the same office building.

The agency scaled significantly during the pandemic as brands redirected budgets away from radio and billboards toward digital channels, coinciding with TikTok’s emergence as a dominant marketing platform. That pivot attracted Fortune 500 companies looking to navigate short-form video ecosystems that traditional agencies struggled to penetrate.

Unlike conventional holding-company acquisitions where creative shops are often absorbed and rebranded within months, the arrangement preserves Get Engaged’s operational identity. The model mirrors a broader trend among private equity-backed marketing networks seeking specialized digital capabilities rather than generalist agencies, driven by the premium brands now place on creators who understand algorithmic distribution and cultural timing.